Thrive believes passionately in the power of gardening to help disabled people and some of the changes we see in people through gardening are astonishing.

Here are the experiences of the people who have contacted Thrive. They decided to start or continue gardening with a disability, why don't you have a try?

Fred

If you visited the previous version of the Carry on Gardening website, you will remember Fred Short’s article called 'My garden story’.

This was a popular page about how Fred, and his wife Linda, designed their garden to make it suitable for them to work in and maintain. Fred and Linda’s dwarfism not only means they have difficulty reaching, they also need to be careful not to over do things physically and definitely no working at ground level. Significant challenges for keen gardeners!

Find out more about Fred

Mark

Mark lost his sight in 1999, he has an hereditary eye condition which meant he lost his sight gradually. He is an active member of Thrive’s National Blind Gardeners’ Club and sits on the advisory committee which guides the Club’s activities and ensures input from members.

Find out more about Mark

Jean

Jean had been gardening for around 20 years when she rapidly started to loose her sight with macular degeneration in 2001. Now in her 80s, Jean is registered blind and deaf but tries to be as independent as possible.

Find out more about Jean

Ian

Ian was a self-employed landscape gardener working to support his family when a stroke changed his life completely.

Find out more about Ian

Angela

Angela is in her 80s and has had two strokes, one when she was having surgery to replace a heart valve. She had the second stroke in 2008.

Find out more about Angela